Thursday, October 30, 2008

full circle

Nine years ago I came to Tennessee to serve The Church of the Epiphany as their vicar. After two and a half very good years there I parted company to move to Missouri and marry a man that I thought I was destined to be with. Fortunately for me, destiny whispered a warning about that future before it was too late, and I called off the marriage.

The road from that point until now has been generally quite bumpy, especially as it relates to my vocational life. I have prayed and discerned, discerned and prayed, tried and failed, tried and gotten run over to find the right niche within (and without) the parameters of the Church to serve God as a priest.

In the meantime Epiphany has been down its own bumpy road as it tried (and failed), and tried (and gotten run over) to find solid clergy leadership. Last May I was asked if I would fill in there for a few Sundays to fill some gaps in the clergy schedule--what we call being a "supply" priest. Within a few weeks I was asked to serve alternate months with another priest. No problem.

I didn't know what to expect when I first returned last May, but was pleasantly surprised to find the church calm, peaceful, and hopeful. A good place to be for a church. It's membership was diminished in size, but not in spirit. It's been a good experience, good enough that conversations began to take place about the possiblity of me returning there in a more official capacity.

Jumping ahead (the full story is longer than anyone wants to read)--a few weeks ago I received a call from the bishop to tell me that he wanted to appoint me to Epiphany as Priest-in-Charge. I said yes. The appointment is for a two-year period, at which time we will all evaluate where we are, and the parish will have the option to call me as their rector.

There are a few old fogies who are resisting my return, but as we have all discussed--the Church is in a different place than they were six years ago, and I am in a different place. Our need for each other appears right, and the fit, good.

This Sunday will be my first official day as the new Priest-in-Charge. We've come full circle, that funky little church and I, and there is every reason to believe that the days ahead will be good ones.

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Who am I?

This Gentle Yankee has returned home to Connecticut after 17 years among the lovely rolling hills of middle Tennessee. A priest by calling, soul food includes love for photography, writing, cooking, dogs, all things Scottish, and a deep appreciation for the friends and family who inspire smiles and through whom I experience grace.

Reach out and touch

Give me a hand!

Showing the love, sharing the fight.

The Daily Puppy

The Virgin of the Passion

Take it to Publix!

Publix recycles styrofoam: egg cartons, meat trays, and so on. Click the cup to find out more about recycling this environmental hazard!

(in)courage

gems

From the 2003 memorial service for slain reporter Daniel Pearl (directed to Daniel Pearl's father):

"We are here to assert the Islamic conviction of the moral equivalency of our Abrahamic faiths. If to be a Jew means to say with all one's heart, mind and soul, 'Sh'ma Israel, Adonai Elohenu, Adonai echad; Hear o Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One,' not only today am I a Jew, but I have always been one, Mr. Pearl."

"If to be a Christian is to love the Lord our God with all of my heart, mind and soul and to love for my fellow human beings what I love for myself, then not only am I a Christian, but I have always been one, Mr. Pearl. We are here especially to seek your forgiveness and that of your family for what has been done in the name of Islam."Imam Feisal Rauf

There are many things to be grateful "for" but, as I ripen with the seasons of life, the many reasons blend into a sacred mystery. And, most deeply, I realize that living gratefully is its own blessing.Michael Mahoney

“Give me a candle of the Spirit, O God, as I go down into the deeps of my being. Show me the hidden things, the creatures of my dreams, the storehouse of forgotten memories and hurts. Take me down to the spring of my life, and tell me my nature and my name. Give me freedom to grow, so that I may become that self, the seed of which you planted in me at my making. Out of the deeps I cry to you, O God.”--Prayer at night by Jim Cotter

prayers this week:

--for the people of Haiti and Chile...

--for Ken: health, vocational guidance, healing and peace

--for Barbara S., experiencing multiple health issues

--for those serving in the armed forces at home and abroad, and for the victims of war